On tap at The Rathskeller, Indianapolis, IN, USA. So, I sit down at the bar and see the tap handle of this beer that I do not recognize. I order one and start chatting to the two guys sat next to me at the bar. One turns out to be the Spaten rep, and he tells me this is the first keg in the USA! Nice color on the pour with a deep russet, red/brown. Color is good but the head is non-existent. No head, no retention and no lace. Very poorly carbonated. Nice richness, but it maintains the lager...
Notes on beers brewed by
Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel
Classic Dunkel pour and look, although I might say that the body is more orange than many others in the same style. Head and retention are not quite as spectacular as predicted, but still better than average. Nose is as expected, banana (mild), bread (stronger) and a little spice (maybe all spice) in there too. Light clove in nose and initial tastes. Sweeter in the mouth than the nose would suggest. Refreshing and easy drinking, with lots of sweet wheat flavors. Fairly representative, but at...
Spaten Oktoberfestbier Ur-Märzen
On tap at Vreny's, Atlanta, GA, USA 12/03/05. Medium body that lacks the richness of many O'fests. Lack of punch in the mouthfeel and taste departments. Goes down well, has session potential. Aroma muted too. For fuller notes see; See http://beeradvocate.com/beer/user_review/?action=edit&id=142&b=582&rId=242759
Spaten Oktoberfestbier Ur-Märzen
Good, dark copper color and an attractive head. Lacing apparent, but not sticky or much of it. Good solid beer, with some bitterness that runs all the way through from start to finish. I didn't get that typical, full bodied, sweetness that one can get with some Oktoberfest's, more a medium bodied, bitter, dark beer. Slightly out of style I thought. I miss the maltier, chewier body that ought to accompany the style. Smell brings out the grain and is not that attractive. Drinkable, but fairly...
Franziskaner Club-Weisse Kristalklar
Pale straw color and a very large billowing head, resulting from that deliciously lovely "noisy" and aggresive pour. Despite the large, frothy head, very little lacing to speak of. Aroma and initial tastes are of mildly alcoholic cloves. Quite thin in the mouth, very mild all around with a low bitterness. Some grassy, organic feel to the brew too. Drinks easy, a classic summer thirst quencher.
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse
Distinctly better than average offering, true to the style and delightfully refreshing. Pour is classically cloudy gold, with the distinctive, large rocky foamed head. Very little lacing though that somewhat surprised me. Fruit aromas start this and overshadow the expected clove and herbal notes. I don't a large amount of the classic banana, but more general fruitiness which is a nice change from the norm. This is a much smoother and sweeter experience than I was expecting. In fact, as the...
Spaten Optimator
A nice example of how to combine a decent alcohol content, a popular style and a sound beer in a macro type way. Pours dark brown with quite a lot of carbonation. A little too much in the bottle that I tried. It's a good looking beer that appears to have some substantial body. Very rich aromas and tastes initially hit you. It's all malt! Really quite sweet, in keeping with the style. A good mouthfeel (not as large as it looks) and a very smooth finish. Nice example of the style.
Spaten Münchner Hell (Premium Lager)
Frankly this was not good. An amazingly skunky experience that reminded me of a Heineken was the overall impression I was left with. Weak and lifeless pour with no head and a nasty aroma. Very little else to be said. I got a real corny type whiff with my skunkiness and the whole taste was permeated by the smelliness of the beer. Very disappointed by a beer I was expecting more of.